The Return Series
by princessjoey630
Summary: Another take on what happened after Judgement Day. Tiva. Songfics.
1. Chapter 1: Somewhere

A/N I'm writing again. But slowly. Hehe.

Anyway, this is a random thing I came up with last night.

Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 1: Somewhere

Tony was pacing around his 'room', trying to resist the temptation to punch something. The last time he had, people walking past outside had been very curious as to 'what that huge bang was'.

He didn't want them knowing.

-

_Lost in the darkness, hoping for a sign_

_Instead there is only silence_

_Can't you hear my screams_

_Never stop hoping_

_Need to know where you are_

_But one thing's for sure_

_You're always in my heart_

_-_

Frustration took over. "Dammit!" he yelled, putting his hands to his head. Here he was, on a ship, with no way of finding her. He knew she wouldn't be safe in Israel. he just knew it.

He couldn't call her. It was very likely that if he did, he would either hang up after her 'Hello?' or never be able to hang up.

How could this happen? How could things end up this way?

How could _they_ end up this way?

-

_I'll find you somewhere_

_I'll keep on trying_

_Until my dying day_

_I just need to know whatever has happened_

_The truth will free my soul_

-

Thanks to Abby, his main contact back on dry land, he knew that Ziva had been injured on one of her missions. Being Mossad, injuries were fairly common occurrences, but still. She was hurt.

It had taken Mossad four days to find her and the guy she was working with. Four whole days.

Tony kicked his bed, the swore at the pain in his toes. He hadn't slept properly in weeks.

The only thing worse than knowing was not knowing.

-

_Lost in the darkness, try to find your way home_

_I want to embrace you, and never let you go_

_Almost hope you're in heaven_

_So no-one can hurt your soul_

_Living in agony, coz I just do not know_

_Where you are_

-

He needed to be back with her. He needed to be back home, at his desk, sitting across from her, laughing at some mistake that McGee had made.

It was his own fault that he felt this way. He knew it. He couldn't deny it.

It was all because of their last conversation at NCIS.

_"What are we going to do?" McGee asked as he packed his things into a box. It was amazing just how much crap a single desk could contain, something which Tony had no problem telling him._

_Ziva was subdued. Going home was a horrible prospect for her. Her father was there. Memories were there. Everything she had left behind was there._

_Tony watched her carefully. The moment Vance had told them they were all reassigned he had only just resisted the urge to throw the files in his face. He was already feeling bad enough about Jenny, but then to separate him from the people he needed most?_

_McGee closed his box. "I'm gonna go see Abby. See you later guys." Then he left._

_Tony and Ziva kept packing in silence, until it was broken by a sniffing noise. Tony looked up._

_Ziva was crying. Not completely breaking down, crashing to the floor and barely breathing crying, but tears were slowly running down her cheeks, taking her mascara with it._

_Within seconds Tony had dropped the paper he was holding and was at her side. She turned her face away, trying to blink away the tears._

_"Ziva," he said quietly. He reached around so she was looking at him. The tears sparkled in the dim light coming from their desk lamps. "It's alright..."_

_"How can you say that?" she said. She wasn't angry, she wasn't annoyed...she was defeated. She knew she was, but she still had some fight in her. "How can you possibly say that things are alright when I am practically being deported and McGee is being sent down to the geek squad and you...and you..."_

_Tony couldn't help himself. He put his arms around her, so she was crying into his shoulder. He felt her hands meet in the middle of his back, and tried to keep his heart rate down._

_He couldn't remember the last time they were this close. When they were undercover, perhaps. But that was pretending for the most part, and this was real._

_He kissed her on the head. A somewhat romantic gesture, but mostly a comforting one._

_Her hands tensed behind him for a second, but they stood like that for minutes that seemed like hours._

_A voice distracted them. "Ziva. Let's go," Gibbs said from the elevator. He was taking her home so she could pack all the rest of her things._

_Tony didn't release her for a few seconds. He didn't like the idea of this being the last time her saw her._

_As she pulled away, she tilted her head up so she could whisper into his ear._

_"I love you."_

_And with that, she was gone._

If only he hadn't embraced her like that. He could have just put a hand on her shoulder. Or something.

But instead she had ended up telling him _that_, and he realised he felt the same way.

Now he needed her. He needed to know where she was, what she was doing, how she was.

For all he knew, she was dead. It had been a while since he had had an update from Abby.

Maybe he would never see her again. Maybe he would never get to tell her how he felt as well.

-

_Wherever you are, I won't stop searching_

_Whatever it takes, need to know_

_I'll find you somewhere_

_I'll keep on trying_

_Until my dying day_

_I just need to know whatever has happened_

_The truth will free my soul_

-

He just needed to know. He needed to know that she was alright.

He sat down on his bed, his toe still smarting.

He made a silent promise to himself, and to her.

_I will find her._

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A/N I hope you liked it! Feedback is appreciated.

There are two more chapters for this story. I'm just putting the finishing touches on the last one now.


	2. Chapter 2: Home

A/N Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter.

This chapter is to the song 'Home' by Michael Bublé.

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Chapter 2: Home

Ziva walked out of the bathroom, now rid of all the dirt and muck that had accumulated on her skin that day. Rubbing the towel against her hair, she sat down on the chair in the corner of her room.

--

_Another summer day_

_Has come and gone away_

_In Paris and Rome_

_But I wanna go home_

_Maybe surrounded by_

_A million people_

_I still feel all alone_

_Just wanna go home_

_I miss you, you know_

_--_

Being in Mossad, she had been flying to various countries since her return to Israel. For weeks she had been working, no breaks.

She didn't want them.

She knew that by stopping, she would end up think about him.

Not that she didn't think about him. She thought about him all the time. But when she had work to do, she could distract herself from him.

She just wanted to be with Tony him again.

Her feelings for him had increased since their separation. As the famous quote said, 'absence makes the heart grow fonder'.

--

_And I've been keeping all the letters_

_That I wrote to you_

_Each one a line or two_

'_I'm fine, baby, how are you?'_

_I would send them but I know that it's just not enough_

_My words were cold and flat _

_And you deserve more than that _

_--_

She looked over to her bedside table. A pile of unsealed envelopes sat there, teetering over. There was already a smaller pile on the floor next to them – they were the older ones.

Words couldn't do her justice. She wasn't a writer. She was a fighter. No matter how many other books she read or how much inspiration she tried to summon, she could never do it.

She got up and went to the window. Outside people were walking together, hand in hand, laughing with each other, leaning in to one another…

What if he found someone else?

Not that it was likely. He was on a ship. But what if somehow he got off and managed to return to NCIS in DC?

Then she really would be alone.

--

_Another airplane, another sunny place_

_I'm lucky I know_

_But I wanna go home_

_I got to go home_

_Let me go home_

_I'm just too far_

_From where you are_

_I wanna come home_

_--_

When she had first joined Mossad, she had considered herself lucky in a way. Traveling the world, helping her country, saving lives, even if sometimes she had to take them.

She didn't know why the team had been separated. In a way, she didn't want to know. But still, they could have been moved so that they were within a few hours of each other. Instead, they were on opposite sides of the world.

Ziva talked to McGee every week. She emailed him, telling him that she was still alive, how much she wasn't enjoying where she was, how much she missed him and Abby.

She never mentioned Tony. She couldn't. She end up letting something slip. Like what she said to him just before she left.

"_I love you."_

--

_And I feel just like I'm living someone else's life_

_It's like I just stepped outside_

_When everything was going right_

_And then I know just why you could not come along with me_

_That this was not your dream_

_But you always believed in me_

--

Her partner, Michael, knew that she wasn't always focused. He would often intervene so he could do the job, while she sat back and watched.

She hadn't spoken to her father in a while. He just kept assigning her different missions, sending her away.

He loved her, she knew that. But maybe, she thought, if he loved her enough, he would send her home.

It was sad that it had taken the death of a team member and being reassigned to get Ziva to admit how she felt to Tony. And now that she had, she hadn't heard a thing.

In the past, he'd nearly always been there for her. Always behind her, making sure they wouldn't be surprised. Even during the case where she had become involved with a suspect, he had still tried to make her feel better, for the most part.

No-one knew how now when Ziva was home, she would stare at the phone, waiting for it ring. Waiting for Tony to call.

He never did.

She had to get out of here. Leave Mossad. Return to Washington.

See him again.

Suddenly, the phone did ring. She picked it up, not sure what to say.

Then the obvious answer came to her. "Hello?"

After a quick conversation, and many 'Really?'s from her end, Ziva hung up, grabbed her bag from next to the door, and ran out.

--

_Let me go home_

_I'm had my run_

_Baby I'm done_

_I gotta go home_

_Let me go home_

_It'll all be alright_

_I'll be home tonight_

_I'm coming back home_

_--_

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A/N Okay, it doesn't fit perfectly with the lyrics, but yeah.

Hehe. Review!


	3. Chapter 3: I Will Be

A/N Yep, this is a quick update. Blame (or praise) Pippy.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed!

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Chapter 3: I Will Be

Tony sat at his desk in the squadroom. Gibbs, being the magical all-powerful leader that he was, had twisted the arm of the director until he had his team back.

Tony had been happy with the news, but was dismayed when he heard Ziva wasn't coming back then.

He still needed to see her. Still wanted to hear from her.

She hadn't contacted McGee or anyone for a while. Assuming that she was on a mission, McGee and Gibbs hadn't read much into it that Tony knew of.

He, however, spent hours trying to find a hole in Mossad's system allowing him to find her.

He hadn't succeeded.

"DiNozzo, let's go," Gibbs said, walking past.

"Where're we going Boss?"

"Airport. Got someone to escort back here. Let's go."

Tony grabbed his badge and Sig before running after his Boss.

--

_There's nothing I could say to you_

_Nothing I could ever do to make you see_

_What you mean to me_

_All the pain, the tears they cried_

_Still you never said goodbye_

_And now I know who far you'd go_

_I know I let you down_

_But it's not like that now_

_This time I'll never let you go_

--

They arrived at the airport some time later. Tony had been silent the entire journey – he never talked much anymore. Barely made fun of McGee. No faint flirting with other agents.

He just wanted Ziva there.

Gibbs led Tony to the massive terminal, where they sat.

"Plane gets here in a few minutes," he said. "Coffee."

"On it," Tony replied. Back at the office, he took every coffee run that he could, just to escape staring at her desk.

--

_I thought that I had everything_

_I didn't know what life could bring_

_But now I see_

_Honestly_

_You're the one thing I got right_

_The only one I let inside_

_Now I can breathe_

_Cause you're here with me_

_And if I let you down_

_I'll turn it all around_

_Cause I would never let you go_

--

Often, he thought he could feel her there. Next to him. It was more than once that he had seen a dark-haired woman walking down the street and thought it was her, even going as far as running up to her just to make sure.

Before he'd met Ziva, he'd been a player. Even her knew that. But the longer he knew her, the more he toned it done. In the second year he'd know her, he'd only had one girlfriend, and that was for an undercover mission.

In the third year he'd known her, he hadn't had a girlfriend at all. He'd still flirted, but no relationships blossomed.

That's when he'd begun to think he really did love Ziva.

She'd helped him, or at least tried to, through his breakup with Jeanne. She'd been there for him.

Sometimes, if he closed his eyes and pictured her in his mind, he began to feel almost normal again.

--

_Cause without you I can't sleep_

_I'm not gonna ever ever let you leave_

_You'll all I got_

_You're all I want_

_Yeah_

_And without you I don't know what I'll do_

_I could never ever live a day without you_

--

Tony returned with the coffees. They waited, finally hearing that the flight was delayed, so they walked around a bit, not speaking, but together.

Finally, it was announced that the plane had landed. Minutes later, the passengers began to arrive.

Tony was staring at his cup, thinking about how many hours of sleep he'd had since this whole ordeal had started.

Not many.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs said, elbowing him.

"What?" he replied, looking up.

Gibbs nodded to the passengers in front of them

There she was.

Holding a bag.

A faint smile on her face as she saw him.

Tony blinked several times, trying to see if it was a hallucination.

It wasn't.

"Ziva…" he breathed.

He began walking forward at the same time that she did, starting of slowly, but eventually running.

Ziva dropped her bag halfway through, but didn't stop to pick it up.

There he was. Coming towards her.

He was real.

They met, both wrapping their arms around each other, Tony's hand entwining itself into her hair as she put her forehead on his shoulder.

"Tony…" she said, muffled by his shirt, but he heard her. He buried his face in her hair, inhaling the scent of her, the scent that he had not forgotten.

"I love you too," he said.

Through her happy tears, he felt her laugh. He pulled back slightly, so he could get a good look at her face.

Exactly the same.

Noticing that Gibbs was still giving them their space, even if he was breaking rules left right and centre, Tony leaned in and kissed her, this time on the lips.

--

_I will be all that you want_

_And get myself together_

_Cause you keep me from falling apart_

_All my life_

_I'll be with you forever_

_To get you thought the day_

_And make everything okay_

--

There didn't seem to be anything that either one of them could do to express everything that they were feeling at that moment.

The surrounding people, noticing their embrace, began clapping, slowly at first, but eventually it was a loud applause. Tony and Ziva both laughed. They were reunited, and this time, it was forever.

--

_Here with me, you see, you're all I need_

--

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A/N Review!

I messed with the lyrics order a bit, but oh well.

I picture this chapter in my head, so it's a bit (well, very) OOC.


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